Dégringolade

John W. Whitehead Constitutional attorney John W. Whitehead is president of The Rutherford Institute Twenty years ago, a newspaper headline asked the question: "What's the difference between a politician and a psychopath?" The answer, then and now, remains the same: None. There are surprisingly few differences between psychopaths and some politicians. "Politicians are more likely than people in the general population to be sociopaths. I think you would find no expert in the field of sociopathy/psychopathy/antisocial personality disorder who would dispute this. That a small minority of human beings literally have no conscience was and is a bitter pill for our society to swallow -- but it does explain a great many things, shamelessly deceitful political behavior being one." --Dr. Martha Stout, clinical psychologist and former instructor at Harvard Medical School Twenty years ago, a newspaper headline asked the question: "What's the difference between a po...

  1959 English translation of Errico Malatesta's pamphlet "Vote. What For?" by the New York based Libertarian League.  Scanned for libcom.org by New York/New Jersey Workers Solidarity Alliance archives. George : This beer’s not too bad, is it? Jack : Yes, it’s alright, but what a price! George : Shocking – especially when you remember what things used to cost. Still, you can’t wonder with all these taxes. It costs you twice as much to live as it used to. They put up the price of some things, and say you can do without them. But you can’t do without bread, and food, and clothes – you have to pay the rent all the same, and then there are the taxes on this and the rates – on our wages too! What a life! And it’s our own fault! If we wanted to we could alter things. The working class has the remedy in its own hands. Jack : Why, what’s your remedy? George : Easy enough! You’ve got a vote? Jack : What’s that got to do with it? George : Have you, or haven’t you? Jack : Well, I’m ...

  The State of Democracy in the United States: 2022 2023-03-20 10:00 Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China Contents I. Preamble II. American democracy in chronic ills 1. American democracy in further decline 2. Political polarization intensified by partisan fights 3. Money politics surged 4. “Freedom of speech” in name only 5. The judicial system blind to public opinion 6. Americans increasingly disillusioned with American democracy III.  The United States’ imposition of “democracy” has caused chaos around the world 1. Foreign policy held hostage by political polarization 2. Inciting confrontation and conflict in the name of democracy 3. Doubling down on unilateral sanctions 4. Undermining democracy in international relations 5. Foisting a trumped-up narrative of “democracy versus authoritarianism” IV. Conclusion I. Preamble In 2022, the vicious cycle of democratic pretensions, dysfunctional politics and a divided society continued in the United States. Prob...